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Hopes pinned on Benson

Supporters tout his ability to work across party lines

By Berny Morson, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published February 1, 2008 at 12:30 a.m.

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Students walk past a portrait of Bruce Benson in the building named after him - Benson Earth Sciences Building on the CU campus in Boulder.

Photo by Linda McConnell / Special to the Rocky

Students walk past a portrait of Bruce Benson in the building named after him - Benson Earth Sciences Building on the CU campus in Boulder.

Benson

Benson

Rice

Rice

Cheney

Cheney

Gary Scott a CU senior political science major.

Gary Scott a CU senior political science major.

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Longtime Republican activist Bruce Benson emerged as the sole finalist for University of Colorado president because key CU leaders see him as a man who can cross party lines to solve the state's higher education funding crisis.

"Everybody in the state knows him, and he knows everybody," said Regent Steve Bosley, who chaired the 17-member search committee.

Added history professor Patricia Limerick, a member of the committee: "You would need a wheelbarrow for Bruce's Rolodex, if it were a literal Rolodex."

Benson, 69, is a former Republican Party state chairman, but governors of both parties have tapped him for education policy councils, including the Colorado Commission on Higher Education and the governing board of Metropolitan State College of Denver.

He currently co-chairs the panel appointed by Democratic Gov. Bill Ritter to look at overhauling education in Colorado from preschool through college.

Benson said Thursday he has given up all partisan activities in preparation for becoming CU president. He skipped a GOP fundraiser with President Bush on Thursday and will step down as head of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's Colorado campaign committee.

Benson was instrumental in campaigning for Referendum C, a 2005 ballot measure that raised funds for several state programs, including higher education.

"He irritated right-wingers of the Republican Party, but he did what he thought was the right thing," said Bosley, a Republican.

Benson was named the only finalist at a regents meeting Wednesday. The nine-member panel will vote again, in not less than two weeks, on whether to give him the job.

Benson would replace Hank Brown, a former U.S. senator who took over in 2005, when the school was wracked by scandals.

Benson holds a bachelor's degree in geology from CU's Boulder campus. He heads Benson Mineral Group, a Denver oil company.

He has spearheaded CU fundraising drives, donating about $8 million himself.

Among those who put his name before the search committee to replace Brown was Regent Cindy Carlisle, of Boulder, a Democrat.

But the nomination drew opposition from several Democrats, who felt that he is too partisan.

Regent Michael Carrigan said he respects Benson, but believes his strong Republican leanings could be divisive. Carrigan and Democratic Regent Steve Ludwig voted against him.

Carrigan also noted that Benson does not hold an advanced degree, typically a prerequisite for university presidencies.

House Majority Leader Alice Madden, D-Boulder, blasted the nomination.

"My reaction when I heard it was Bruce Benson was, 'That's a really bad joke,' " she said.

"He has a bachelor's degree in geology. Not that that's a bad thing, but I assume he will be the least educated president ever considered in modern history, and we are a nationally - if not internationally - recognized research institution," Madden said.

But RL Widmann, an English professor who chairs CU's Faculty Council, said an advanced degree is less important for a president than it used to be.

Limerick said Benson impresses faculty members by his respect for conflicting points of view.

On the Boulder campus Thursday, many students said they weren't familiar with Benson.

But others, like 19-year-old Natalie Ricks, a freshman fine arts major, said his Republican credentials could be a plus.

"I think it's always good, especially because Boulder is such a liberal town, just to have different opinions," Ricks said.

Benson said Thursday that "academic freedom is high on my list." He draws the line, however, at professors who impose their political points of view on students, a subject of controversy in recent years.

But, he added, policies on academic matters must be made in conjunction with the faculty and regents, and not dictated by the president. "There's shared governance," he said.

morsonb@RockyMountainNews.com or 303 954-5209 The Daily Camera and Rocky staff writers Ann Imse and Lynn Bartels contributed to this report.

Bruce Benson Finalist for president of the University of Colorado

Education

Bachelor's degree in geology from CU-Boulder; honorary doctorate from CU, 2004

Personal

* Age, 69; married to Marcy Benson; with his first wife, Nancy Benson, he has three children

Current

* President and owner of Benson Mineral Group since 1965

* Co-chair of governor's P-20 Education Coordinating Council

* One of the state's largest donors to GOP campaigns; says he will resign as national co-chair of Romney for President

* Major donor to Denver schools and higher education causes

Past

* Candidate for governor, 1994

* Co-chairman of 2005 campaign for Refs C and D

* Board chairman of the Metropolitan State College of Denver * Chair of former Gov. Bill Owens' Blue Ribbon Panel on Higher Education for the 21st Century

* Chairman of the Colorado Commission on Higher Education

* Member of Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper's Infrastructure Priorities Task Force, which recommended a property tax hike

* Awarded CU's University Medal by regents in 1999

* Denver Zoo Foundation chair

The rainmaker

* A CU fundraising campaign Benson headed from 1997 to 2003 collected more than $1 billion.

* Benson has personally donated $8 million to CU, including $3 million for the earth sciences building and $3 million for an endowed chair in petroleum geology.

* Benson's salary is not set yet, but CU President Hank Brown makes $360,000, plus use of a university car and a housing allowance of $47,000.

* On his five-page resume, Benson lists involvement with 15 corporations and affiliations with 30 civic groups.

4 questions for Bruce Benson

Benson, head of Benson Mineral Group and finalist for University of Colorado president, spoke with Rocky Mountain News reporter Berny Morson.

1 Why do you want to be CU president?

I'm passionate about education. . . . If I can help fix this higher ed system, I'll just feel like I accomplished something. It is really important to me. It's helping people. It's helping our state. If I can do that, I don't need to make a lot more money.

2 State aid used to cover 75 percent of instructional costs for in-state undergraduates, with tuition picking up the rest. Will parents ever see that kind of support again?

I don't think that works anymore. NCHEMS (National Center for Higher Education Management Systems) says we're $830 million short of our peers. I'm always suspicious of things like that. But let's say it's $700 million - it's a big number. It's going to take more than $59 million to catch up - per year. Because the other guys, they're not all staying status quo. So we've got to do better.

3 How much do you think CU students should be expected to pay in tuition?

I think that's too detailed (a question) at this point. When I was on the board of Metropolitan State College, I was the champion of trying to hold the tuition down. This year at Metro, tuition on a full-time basis took a little bit of a downtick, and I was still chairman (of the governing board) there.

4 What has to be fixed in higher education?

Let's start with the funding - we're killed. We're $700 million, $830 million less than our peers. Let's figure out how to bring that somewhere up where it belongs. Capital construction - what is it? Somewhere around a billion, a billion and a half (to meet the needs of) the entire system? Higher ed has to stick together, work together . . . We have to figure out how to get more money into our system.

What's next

Bruce Benson will meet with CU constituency groups, such as faculty members, students and alumni. Key state legislators are sometimes included. If the candidate makes a favorable impression, negotiations will begin with the regents regarding salary and benefits.

Presidential search committee

* Steve Bosley, regent, chairman

* Suzanne Byerley, faculty, CU-Colorado Springs

* Patricia Limerick, faculty, CU-Boulder

* Steven Ringel, faculty, CU-Denver and Health Sciences Center

* R L Widmann, faculty, chair of CU Faculty Council

* David Solin, staff, CU system

* Rebekah Griffith, student, CU-Denver and Health Sciences Center

* David Getches, dean, CU-Boulder

* Venkateshwar Reddy, dean, CU-Colorado Springs

* Jason Gaulden, CU-Colo. Springs alumnus, Denver

* Walter A. Koelbel Jr., CU-Boulder alumnus, Denver

* Jean Thompson, CU-Boulder alumna, Boulder

* Gilbert Carbajal, community member, Fort Collins

* Henry Dalton, community member, Louisville

* Jerry Donahue, community member, Broomfield

* Verne A. Smith, community member, Grand Jct.

Rice, Lynne Cheney were early candidates

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Lynne Cheney, wife of Vice President Dick Cheney, were among the 80 to 100 names considered for the CU president's job early in the search, sources told the Daily Camera. Rice graduated from the University

of Denver in 1974 at age 19. Lynne Cheney has a master's degree from CU.

What they're saying

Gov. Bill Ritter: "He's a strong advocate for education. He also brings a valuable private-sector perspective to the discussion about work force and business needs, as they relate to education."

Regent Cindy Carlisle, a Boulder Democrat, in a Jan. 8 letter to the presidential search panel: "Few would be better able to strengthen CU's financial security and credibility throughout Colorado or on a national level. . . . It is difficult to think of anyone better suited to further President Brown's legacy and provide strong leadership for CU's future."

State House Majority Leader Alice Madden, D-Boulder: "My reaction when I heard it was Bruce Benson was, 'That's a really bad joke.' He has a bachelor's degree in geology. Not that that's a bad thing, but I assume he will be the least-educated president ever considered in modern history."

Hal Nees, president of the Faculty Senate, Metropolitan State College of Denver: "He clearly knew who to talk to."

Joan Laura Foster, dean of the School of Letters, Arts and Sciences, Metro State: "He will work with people with opposing views. If you are not going to choose somebody from higher education, then he's a good choice."

U.S. Rep. Mark Udall, D-Colo.: "I was impressed that he stood up to the right wing in his own party by supporting Referendum C last year, which was so important to higher education. If Bruce is selected, I will look forward to working with him."

Gary Scott, above, a CU senior political science major: "We have one of the best political science departments in the country. I would hate to see that suffer because you're introducing either a liberal or conservative bias."

Comments

  • February 2, 2008

    8:57 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    truth_teller writes:

    If you could pick a worse President of CU then Bruce Benson, you should win a prize. This is simply a pay off for the millions of dollars that Bruce Benson has given to the Colorado Republican party for years. He has not worked across party lines other than building a Republican Party that loses to Democrats. This will be a worse choice than replacing Brown with Kay Norton, another Republican political hack that has driven the University of Northern Colorado down down down. Enrollment is down and she blaims illegal immigrants. Her husband solved the traffic problem in Colorado. You better leave a half hour early.
    Bruce Benson knows nothing about education. Nothing. He has never worked in a school.
    It is time to rid the State of the Colorado Regents. They are do nothing organization.
    Bruce Benson is a joke. We dont need Colorado University to produce leaders like Tom Tancredo, Marilyn Musgrave and Wayne Allard. This is the kind of leadership that Benson likes. Remember when he ran for Governor? Will he teach a drunk driving course?
    Maybe a course in making yourself millions by giving thousands to the Republican Party.